Dadan paused in the doorway to the main section of the house and partially turned to face his friend. “There is no cause for alarm. The situation has been handled.”

“But what situation?” Yushir persisted as he hurried up to us. “You are telling me only half the story! What happened to the barrier?”

Dadan swept an arm toward the seating area where Puren had laid out a chessboard. “Sit before you collapse.”

Yushir furiously twirled his ring back and forth. “I will be perfectly fine when you tell me what happened!”

“Then you will not mind if I sit.” Dadan moved over to one side of the small table where he took a seat on the cushion and set me in front of him. I was almost as tense as our guest as Yushir hurried up to the side of the table. The prince was fit to bursting and he looked headed for rubbing his finger clean off. Dadan lifted his eyes to his old friend and spoke in a clear, even voice. “Cracks appeared in the barrier.”

The prince’s face drooped and his eyes bulged. “Cracks? Caused by earth tremors?”

Dadan set his eyes on me and stroked my fur. “No. Another magic caused them. It attacked me in the form of a giant hound.”

Yushir took a few stumbling steps and slid onto his knees atop one of the cushioned seats. He faced us with his mouth agape. “A. . .a giant hound? Does that mean that he was almost loosed?”

The hand Dadan used to stroke me froze and the fingers tensed against my fur. I twisted my head around and saw his hard gaze was focused on the board but the dark depths told me he didn’t see the game set. His thoughts had taken him somewhere else. “Perhaps.”

Yushir scurried to his feet with his face ghastly pale. “Then I must tell my uncle this moment.”

Dadan waved his hands at the chess pieces on the table. “First a game of chess.”

The prince’s mouth dropped open. “How can you be so infuriatingly calm knowing the ward was almost broken?”

“Because I know the ward was not broken and it has been mended,” Dadan pointed out. “To alert His Majesty under such duress would only cause further panic. Stay and calm your thoughts with a game. The barrier will not collapse in such a short time.”

Some of Yushir’s calm demeanor returned as he toyed with his ring and examined Dadan. “How much energy did you have to expend to battle the hound and reseal the barrier?”

Dadan plucked a pawn from the board and moved the piece. “Your move.”

“Indeed,” Yushir mused as he sunk onto his cushion. He picked up a pawn and turned it over in his fingers. “You have been back for well over an hour. What have you been doing in that time?”

Dadan stroked my fur. “The cat needed caring.”

Yushir dropped his gaze to me. “That is some admirable caring but I hardly doubt it occupied all of your time.”

“Have you come here to play or talk?” Dadan questioned him.

“Why not both?” Yushir countered as he laid his piece on the board.

“I would rather have music,” Dadan answered as he flicked his wrist. His red magic glowed around his hand and the flute on the table shot across the room and landed neatly in his palm. He set the instrument in his lap and plucked another of his pieces where he set it in play.

“That cat reminds me of the goddess that went missing. Lady Roberts,” Yushir mused as he picked up another chess piece and toyed with it. “My uncle brought up the topic during my discussion of the land realm. He is quite angry at her leaving without permission. She will undoubtedly be imprisoned upon her return if she is not already dead by the hand of some beast.”

Don’t you dare twitch, tail! I scolded my appendage as my mind filled with horrible visions of being tossed into a decrepit, rat-infested, mold-proliferating cell.

My tail twitched with a vengeance. I crawled on top of it and both hid and pinned it to the cushion.

Eastwei plucked a piece from the board but paused at Yushir’s words and raised his eyes to his guest. “Is that certain?”

“Nothing is certain without a body,” the prince mused. He cocked his head to one side and rubbed his ring between two fingers as he studied his friend. “I thought perhaps you would like to know that there are those who suspect that the woman is the source of the evil that happened on Kang’s island and in the village you discovered.”

Dadan set his piece on the board. “Her disappearance is ill-timed.”

Yushir lifted an eyebrow. “Then you believe it?”

Dadan leaned back and set an arm on the armrest at his side. “I merely state that suspicion is hers to dispel if she would show herself.”

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

I stiffened and the tip of my tail twitched. How I wished I could have shouted at them that I was innocent! All I could manage were a few small meows.

Yushir’s attention fell on me as he moved a piece. “You surprise me with this pet, Dadan.”

Dadan lifted an elegant eyebrow and performed another move. “Oh?”

“I would never have taken you as someone who fancied the feline persuasion. What with your being so set against the feminine kind.”

“What does a cat have to do with females?” Dadan asked him as they continued their verbal and board parlay.

Yushir shrugged and moved a piece. “Cats and females are very much alike. They lure you in with their wiles and soft skin, and before you know it you have become the pet.”

Dadan moved one of his pieces and cast his eyes on me. “This one is different.”

I puffed out my chest and gave a mighty meow. Yushir leaned forward and rubbed his hand against the top of my head. I slunk down and swatted at his hand. “Hey!” he objected as he jerked his hand away. The prince rubbed his slightly blemished palm and frowned at me. “She seems to vehemently agree with you.” He returned his attention to the board and his face fell. The prince lifted his frowning eyes to Dadan. “When did you check my king?”

“When you were prattling on about females,” Dadan told him as he stood with his flute in his hand. “Your merely speaking about them seemed to have enticed you into distraction.”

Yushir turned his head to watch Dadan stroll past him. “Where are you going?”

“To think about what you said,” Dadan replied without breaking his pace. “Inform His Majesty I will see him this afternoon about the matter.”

“About the females or the trouble at the mountain?” Yushir shouted, but Dadan didn’t reply. The prince returned his attention to the board and there was a dark cloud on his brow as he swept his arm over the pieces. My eyes widened as his pieces vanished, leaving only the black pieces. He opened his hand and his white pieces dropped down into the holding bowl before he stood. “I never know what that god is thinking. . .” he murmured as he strolled out of the mansion.

I hopped down from my perch and scurried after Eastwei. He strolled through the vast gardens in the rear, his eyes on his instrument but his thoughts were elsewhere. The lord took a seat under the shade of a small gazebo. I hopped onto an adjoining stool and curled my tail about myself.

Eastwei set his elbows on the table in front of us and continued staring at the flute even as he spoke. “I wonder if she had rescued me if I had been thrown into a prison cell.” He turned his head and his eyes settled on me. The lord reached up and stroked my back. “What do you make of such tidings, Fusha?

I cocked my head to one side and blinked at him. Fusha? Does he think I’m someone else or did he just name me?

“Would you bear the burden with me alone as you have done?” he commented. A tinge of sorrow touched his eyes and the corners of his mouth and he drew his hand away. He stared ahead but his eyes had a faraway look in them. “But you are not her, are you? I should not expect you to do anything more than comprehend what I am saying.”

But I am her! I shouted as I stood and danced atop my stool. I’m Lady Roberts! It’s me!

He didn’t appear to notice my little frantic tap dancing. The dour expression on his face squeezed my heart. I had no idea someone who had lived for so long could look lost and lonely. His sadness made me want to do something for him.

I hopped onto the table and set a paw atop his hand. He turned his majestic eyes back on me and lifted an elegant eyebrow. I scooted closer and let out a great purr. “Meow!” I added for more emphasis.

A faint smile touched his lips and he scratched the back of my ear. I had never reached Nirvana until he did that. It was like being massaged by the best masseuse in the world. I leaned into his touch and my eyes rolled back.

Much was my disappointment when he stopped and stood. “Remain here until I return.”

I followed him with pleading eyes as he strolled down the garden path. He paused where the path met the main walk and half-turned to me. I couldn’t read the look in his eyes but I had the feeling he wanted to take in the scene of me sitting there and immortalize it in his memory. He resumed his journey and soon disappeared, leaving me with more than a few questions.

And a lot of time on my hands.